New Music Friday: Warner & Erato Release New Albums from Pappano, Orliński

26 Oct, 2018

Two of the most anticipated classical albums of the autumn, Sir Antonio Pappano’s Requiem: The Pity of War, with tenor Ian Bostridge (Warner Classics), and counter-tenor Jakub Józef Orliński’s debut Anima sacra (Erato) are available in stores and online from 26 October.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Sir Antonio Pappano and Ian Bostridge continue their acclaimed association on record and on stage with the release of Requiem: The Pity of War, a programme of songs offering historical and poetic perspectives on this momentous event. Composed over a period of some 50 years, the songs were written by Gustav Mahler, Kurt Weill and two creative musicians of promise and achievement whose lives were cut short by the Great War, the Englishman George Butterworth (1885-1916) and the German Rudi Stephan (1887-1915).

The Polish-born, Juilliard-trained Orliński’s Anima sacra features eight world premiere recordings of Baroque arias, notably by composers from the Neapolitan school. He is joined by Il pomo d’oro under the direction of Maxim Emelyanychev

He says: “Baroque style is about freedom and passion. There are lots of rules of style to follow, but there are also so many choices to make, starting with ornamentation that you can do in so many different ways. With those ornaments, you can show your creativity, but also get even deeper into the piece and show your artistic persona. It can all be filtered by your own life experiences, which will inspire your choices.”

The New York Times praises the winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious National Council Auditions for his, “beauty of tone and an uncommon unity of color and polish across his range.” Born into an artistic family, he began singing in choirs and became a particular fan of The King’s Singers. In addition to his degree from Juilliard, he earned his Master’s in Vocal Performance from Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and was a member of the Polish National Opera’s Young Artists’ Programme.